Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone (19 page)

Aidan relaxed into Liam’s grip with a
relieved sigh, tail flexing gently as those long, skillful fingers teased out
his cock. Liam relentlessly stroked and tapped at the sensitive underside until
it was his own turn to squirm with need.
“Whatever you want,
Maighstir
.”

“Oh, I think you know.” Liam twisted
them both in the water, steering Aidan’s head downwards to his pouch. Eagerly,
Aidan licked at the gaping slit, dipping inside and running the tip of his
tongue along the soft, spongy lining. Opening his mouth wider, he closed it
over the hard shaft just emerging from the other mer’s body, humming happily as
his tongue traced the heavy veins there.

The rest of Liam’s cock came out, a
rich, flushed maroon against the unending blue around them and the moss green
of his scales. Aidan took it all in one swallow, gagging a bit as it bottomed
out in his throat. Throat muscles working in symphony with his tongue, he
massaged the thick shaft, pulling off long enough to run the velvet flat of his
tongue around the head.

“Enough playing.
Suck,” Liam
ordered.

Aidan obeyed, driving deep onto the cock
again and worshipping it with hands, lips, and tongue. For a moment he wished
Liam’s balls were available in this form. They were incredibly sensitive, and
he knew how much his mate loved having them lapped and sucked.
I wonder if Nick likes having his balls
licked. I can’t wait until Liam has him on all fours, fucking him hard while I
come in his mouth.

He moaned at the thought. The vibration caused
Liam to shudder. “Gods, yes, do that again.”

Aidan sealed his lips around Liam’s
shaft and hummed, bringing the tone up and down until he felt Liam starting to
thrash. The other mer’s hand tightened in his hair in warning, before thick,
tangy fluid spurted over his tongue. He swallowed greedily, sucking down every
drop until Liam pushed his head away.

He looked up and saw his mate’s chest
heaving, gill slits pinkish-grey against the pale skin as Liam fought to draw
in oxygen. “Gods, you’re good at that,” he said roughly, now stroking Aidan’s
hair with tenderness.

Aidan pressed his face into Liam’s
scales, warmed by the praise. His own cock ached for attention, but he doubted
Liam was going to give him permission to relieve it any time soon. “I love you,
Maighstir
.”

Liam drew him up, kissing him and
undoubtedly tasting his own seed on Aidan’s tongue. “And I love you,
sweetheart.” He pressed their foreheads together, before pulling away with
reluctance. “I’d better go. Wish me luck.”

“You won’t need it. Just—be honest with
him.”

“I will.” Aidan was pulled close for a
messy, affectionate kiss, before the big mer turned and swam for the shore.

****

Nick stared at Ian, the remnants of his
pancakes forgotten. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I wish,” Ian said soberly. Aphros had
left them quietly in the middle of his story about Thetis the Mad Nereid, and
they were alone in the kitchen. “But there really is a psychotic goddess out
there who wants to wipe mankind off the face of the planet. I hurt her pretty
badly the last time we met, but I didn’t kill her. And with you finding the Rod
and all, I’m starting to think you’re here to help me stop her.”

“Oh, no.
Nononono, buddy boy.
I am not a hero,” Nick said, waving his
fork. “I just want to patch people up and eat stale donuts, not fight crazy
goddesses and save the world.”

“Can’t you do both?”

“Fuck.” He let the fork drop to his
plate. “I thought I was getting away from all the life-destroying shit by
coming down here, nor running towards it.”

“Best laid plans and all that. If it’s
any consolation, we can always try feeding Barnard to her first.”

“Mrgh,” Nick propped his chin on a hand.
“Do you really think me finding the Rod has something to do with all this?”

Ian toyed with his coffee cup. “I know
this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but yeah, I think you and the Rod
are part of this whole thing. Considering what Thetis did to those poor
mermaids and how she looked the last time I saw her, I wouldn’t be surprised if
she’s planning on some kind of biological attack.”

Nick’s heart sank. From the sound of it,
the planet itself was in serious danger from this Thetis, and Ian, Bythos, and
Aphros were going to have their hands full trying to stop her. It also sounded
like mission control for Operation Save the World had become this small cove on
the Atlantic coast of Florida. “I’m not going to be able to go back to Chicago,
am I?”

Ian hesitated. “I don’t think so, at
least not for a while.”

Nick nodded, feeling wistful. Even with
its crappy winters and crappier politics, he loved Chicago’s brash bustle and
beautiful skyline, edged on the east by the blue skirt of Lake Michigan. After
seven years there, he thought of the city as his home.
Being
forced to leave it, even for the best of reasons, made his heart ache.

“Look, it’s not forever,” Ian said
reassuringly. “Olympic Beach isn’t Chicago, but it’s a pretty nice town. And I
bet you could rent your cottage for the rest of the summer at a total steal.”
He turned his hands up. “Plus I’m staying here for the duration. So at least
you’ve got me.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Nick allowed. “You, two
godly redheads, and a sarcastic semi-transparent centaur
who’s
not quite dead.”

“
Which is another
reason why you have to stay.
You need to study with Chiron and help us
plan ways of warding off bioattacks. Figuring out how she turns mermaids into
ilkothelloi would be a great first step.”

Nick sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“Did you forget the part where I’m not a research scientist?”

“So? I’m a science fiction writer. We’re
all being pushed into roles we didn’t expect,” Ian said. “For whatever reason,
the Fates seem to think you’re the best person to handle the Rod.”

“Yeah, well, the Fates also seem to
think I’m supposed to fall in love with two non-humans, one of whom tried to
kill me last night, so you’ll have to excuse me if I question their judgment.”

Ian tilted his head to the side. “Ever
think that maybe Aidan and Liam are your reward for learning how to use the
Rod?”

“I could maybe buy that if it was just
Aidan,” Nick said morosely. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was already
missing the green-eyed mer. “But Liam scares the shit out of me.”

“You didn’t have the best introduction,”
Ian agreed. “But consider the circumstances. If you had another chance to talk
to him, one where you were in no danger and he was calm, would you take it?”

“I don’t know.
Maybe.
Why?”

Ian nodded at the kitchen window.
“Because I just saw him walk up to my back door.”

Nick twisted in his seat, stomach
clenching as he imagined the tall mer bursting through the cottage’s enclosed
back porch. “I thought he was supposed to stay in the damned water.”

“He was. He’s risking serious punishment
from the twins just by coming here.” Ian sat back in his chair, deceptively
relaxed. “If you want, I’ll get rid of him. Just say the word.”

Nick closed his eyes, trying to decide.
Liam showing up like this was too close to an abuser ignoring a restraining
order to terrorize his victim.

But he thought
you were raping Aidan.
He could still picture the tall mer sitting on Ian’s
couch, clinging to Aidan’s hand as Bythos lectured them.
The
hunched body language that screamed his remorse and shame.
I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up
to you, chuisle.

He still didn’t believe all this fated
mates bullshit. And he wasn’t thrilled that Aidan hadn’t told him about Liam in
the first place. But if he wanted Aidan back, he would have to talk to Liam and
straighten things out. “Fuck. Okay, let’s go talk to him.”

Jaw still clenched, he stood and stalked
out to the porch, Ian at his back. Steeling himself, he opened the porch door.

And froze.
On the
hardpacked path that led to the beach, with his head bowed in a perfect
presentation pose, knelt a nude Liam.

Chapter Seven

Nick swallowed hard, struck by the mer’s
submissive pose. He moved onto the short steps leading to the path. “Hi.”

Liam looked up. “Hello, Nick. Thank you
for coming out.” He nodded respectfully to Ian.
“My lord.”

“Yeah, not a lord,” Ian said, waving it
off. “I work for a living.”

A smile flickered across the mer’s face
before disappearing. He took a deep breath. “Nick, I would like to apologize
for what I did last night. I had no right to enter your home without permission
and lay violent hands on you. I was afraid for Aidan, but that’s an
explanation, not an excuse. If I had gone in with a clear mind, I would have
seen the truth immediately, but I let my fear and anger
overwhelm
me.” He bowed his head again. “I am in no position to ask for your forgiveness,
but I will do whatever penance you require to earn it. Or if you can’t bring
yourself to forgive me, please don’t turn Aidan away. This is no fault of his.”

Nick glanced at the nearby water. “Where
is he?”

“Out at Lord
Bythos’s camp.”
The mer’s hands knotted in his lap. “I told him to stay there while I came to
apologize. Neither of us could sleep last night. I kept thinking of what I
almost did, and…”

His face tilted up, hazel blue eyes wide
and raw with pain. “I am so
sorry
,”
he said. “I could have killed you. I need to be punished.” He bent over,
prostrating himself on the rough path. “Beat me, whip me, do what you choose.
I’m at your mercy.”

Nick winced at the earnestness in the
mer’s voice. “Look, you don’t have to do that,” he said.

The mer shook his head, holding his
pose. “Not until you punish me. I have to earn your forgiveness.”

He’s a Dom,
Nicky. You know he is, just as Aidan is. And he harmed you with his own hands.
It was as if
Aaron was whispering into his ear.
Not
only did he harm you, he did it in anger. It’s the worst thing a Dom can do to
a sub. He
needs
to make amends. Help
him.

Taking a deep breath, Nick nodded.
“All right.
Get up, Liam.” He remembered Aaron’s Dom voice,
the vibrating power it held, and pushed it into his own tone.
“Now.”

Slowly, Liam pushed himself to his feet.
Tiny indentations pocked his skin where he’d rested on pebbles in the path.

“Follow me,” Nick ordered, and headed
back to his cottage. Without looking, he knew that Liam had fallen in behind
him. There was a snort from Ian, but the storm god didn’t say anything else.

Which was good.
Because Nick had
no freaking clue how he was going to make the tall mer pay for his actions,
only that he had to do it somehow.

Walking through the back door, he headed
down the hallway that led to the bright, open living room. When he turned, Liam
hesitated in the doorway, staring guiltily at the patch of carpet where he’d
stood over Nick.

“Just … sit down.” Nick waved at the
sofa and waited until the tall mer had perched on the edge of a cushion, hands
clasped between his knees. In the light of day and with no adrenaline pumping
haphazardly through him, he took the opportunity to study Liam.

Taller than Aidan, Liam’s chestnut hair
was almost long enough to brush his shoulders, and was swept back from a
handsome if somewhat grave face. Hazel blue eyes glimmered with intelligence as
well as guilt. Nick wondered what he looked like when he smiled or laughed.
Unfairly stunning, I’m guessing.
Kissable lips and a neatly cleft chin completed the package.

Below the neck, Liam had a classic
swimmer’s body with broad, muscled shoulders and a chest that had been
developed from hard work, not in a gym. He wore the same kind of thong neckband
that Aidan did, but his was strung with a large gold filigree bead. Below that,
curved pecs boasted tiny tan nipples, and the lean musculature of his sides and
abs would have sent Michelangelo racing for his chisel.

Nick finally allowed himself to glance
at the mer’s groin. Liam had a gorgeous dusky pink cock, long and meaty, with
the tip cowled by a foreskin just as Aidan’s had been. Also like Aidan, the
tall mer had no body hair, and the veins running down to his groin stood out
like traffic lanes on a road.

You can rub one
out to him later. Focus on the situation.
Nick took one of the easy chairs,
searching for the right words.
You made a
bad situation worse. I need to know you won’t attack me. How can I trust you?

To his surprise, what came out was, “How
did you meet Aidan?”

Liam blinked. “We grew up together,” he
said slowly. “We’ve been friends since childhood. And then once we reached
adolescence, we realized we were
chuisle
.
Agapetos
, as Lord Bythos calls it.”